Points of View
by medeaclouds
Summary: In an attempt to fill some of the plot holes in the anime, different characters will be telling us what happened during the time the anime glances over. Rated T for some themes - may change according to story's progression.
1. Chapter 1 Five Years After The Escape

**Chapter 1 - The First Attempt?**

He stared up at the tiny iron-barred window. There was no moon tonight, so his cell was pitch-black. Nonetheless, he could see. He could see what he was doing. He had propped his bed upright against the wall with the tiny window so that the head was a few feet under the window. He had taken the mattress off and laid it against the foot of the bed, to keep it in place. It wasn't a stable structure, but then, he hadn't intended it to be. He took off his gown and tore at the hem. He ripped a lone about the size of his hand. He then tore horizontally, spiralling so that the whole gown turned into one long rag, much like the wrapper on a roll of mints. He tied one end in a noose and looked at it a second, knowing he was sure, before he put it round his neck. He took a deep breath and carefully climbed up the slats, moving as lightly as he could, praying it wouldn't fall yet. He tied the other end of the rag around one of the iron bars, double-knotting it.

What had brought him to this? Five years of torture, three of them alone, without Sora, without Yoru. Actually, he hadn't been totally alone. Ran had been there with him, but alter egos make poor company since they share their creator's body. It was obvious Sora wasn't going to come back for him. He should have realised it long ago, but when you can't keep count of the days and nights you somehow manage to survive, logic tends to fail. He had lived on hope for a few months after Sora's escape, then false hope for a couple of years, for the last few weeks he had been running on fumes, and now there was nothing to keep him going.

He checked the rag was tightly knotted around the bar and the noose adjusted properly. There were no goodbyes to utter, no more thoughts for him to think. Three lonely years had been ample time to reflect. He pushed down hard on the bed with his feet so that it fell to the floor with a crash that was inaudible over the screech of the cloth as it tightened around his neck. He bounced when the rag had reached its full length and he kicked and struggled out of instinct. He was glad he had made it impossible for him to get down, otherwise he might have thought twice about it. He felt the air trapped in his lungs, desperate to get out while his throat was fighting to get more inside him. It was painful. It was unfortunate that the fall hadn't been long enough to break his neck. That would have made this process much quicker. It felt like an eternity before the blackness started to edge into his eyes and his limbs fell limp. It was a relief. The pain was over. Only good things awaited him.

"Sunao? Sunao Fujimori?"

Who was that? The name was familiar. It sounded like the voice was calling. Was it calling to him?

"Ah, good. You're still breathing…"

Breathing? Couldn't be him.

"That was foolish what you just tried, Sunao."

He felt his chest heaving. He must have been breathing. He saw a light cast over a blurry man leaning over him, speaking to him.

"Sunao… Fujimori…" He gasped. That was his name. It was the first time in three years he had heard it. "Nao…"

"Yes." The man put a hand on his face, and stroked it. As he came into focus, Nao recognised Professor Aizawa.

"No…" Nao tried to raise his arms to push Aizawa away, but he was too weak.

"Now, Sunao… you know that suicide is not the answer… Homicide is better for you."

"What's homicide?"

"Wouldn't you like to get revenge for being abandoned?"

"Yes…"

"Let me help you…"

"You? Help me?"

"This revenge is as much for you as it is for me."

"Revenge…"

"I think you're ready, Sunao."


	2. Chapter 2 Three Years Before Chapter 1

**Chapter 2 – Shinichirou's Intentions and Kind Regards**

Shinichirou couldn't help but think Sora was being very quiet today. He was looking out the window while Shinichirou was driving him back to the orphanage. Sora had been quiet for the whole weekend. He had been polite enough to him and Nanami, just very distant and almost brooding. Shinichirou really wanted to ask what the problem was, but he was afraid that he already knew. It was going to be about the lab. It was always about that damn lab. He probably shouldn't have thought about the lab so flippantly, but he was getting so very tired of everyone being tortured by the place when they weren't even there… Well, most of them.

Then again, if it weren't for Aizawa's torturous paedophilic circle of Hell, he wouldn't have Nanami right now. If Nanami hadn't needed someone to save him from his own mind, then Nanami would have considered Shinichirou a momentary lapse in judgement and moved along. Every cloud had its silver lining, but they weren't supposed to illuminate the whole sky.

"Hey, Bro?" Sora asked, still looking out the window at the passing lamp posts.

"Yes, Sora?"

"Can you help me with something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Sora bent over in his seat and hauled up his scuffed Transformers backpack into his lap. He rummaged around in it and after a few moments he pulled out a somewhat crinkled blue envelope.

"What's that, Sora?"

"It's a letter. Can you send it for me?"

Shinichiro braked for the red light and took a closer look at the envelope clasped tightly in Sora's hands. "Uh, Sora, there's no address on it."

"I want you to write it on."

"Well, where do you want to send it, Sora?" Shinichiro had a moment of blind hope where it might just be as simple as a child's bad handwriting.

Sora was staring at the envelope in his hands, gripping it tightly at the edges. "To where Nao is..."

Shinichirou felt his insides clench uncomfortably. He pulled the car over and turned to Sora, who was still hunched over, as if he were attempting to nurse a bad tummy ache. "...Sora... Nao's aunt came and took him abroad after the police rescued him from the lab." Repeating the lie made it worse every time.

"I know... but... all the letters I send have no answer. I think... I think Nao's mad at me, Bro..." Sora's hands started shaking and Shinichirou heard the tears welling up in his voice.

"I'm sure that's not true, Sora." Shinichirou lied again.

"He's gotta be mad though..." Sora started crying. "I left him there... all alone... And he saw us run away... He saw us get away and leave him and he was left all alone with that bad, bad, bad man! I said I wouldn't let him be alone, Bro! I said I'd protect him forever!" Sora lost his grip on the letter and he cried into his palms, drawing in breath in irregular, high-pitched gasps and shaking.

Shinichirou put his arm round Sora's shoulders and rubbed his arm, in a hopeless attempt to comfort him. They both knew this move was in vain, but it was by no means worthless. Sora gripped onto Shinichirou's jacket, even though it was less comforting than the letter.

"It's okay, Sora. Nao is fine. We called the police after we got you to the hospital. They saved Nao and they tracked down his aunt so she could take care of him. He's probably having too much fun with his cousins and has a lot of work at his new school and just forgets to write back."

"But... it's been two years... why hasn't he written back yet? Just once... to one letter... to let me know he's okay..." Sora looked up at Shinichirou with bloodshot eyes and a sticky face, searching for answers Shinichirou would never let him find.

"I don't know, Sora... I don't know... Listen, I'll send the letter... maybe if he sees my handwriting he'll open it and be more inclined to write back quickly."

"Y'think, Bro? I... I really want him to... know that... that... I still... think about him... every day... always... and... I love him, Bro..."

Shinichirou patted Sora on the back and sighed. "I know you do, Sora... I know... I'll address it to him tonight and post it first thing in the morning on the way to work."

"You promise, Bro?" Sora didn't give Shinichirou time to change his mind. "Here's the address you gave me... just in case you forgot it." Sora grabbed a green marker out of his backpack and scribbled five lines on a piece of hastily ripped-out notebook paper. Shinichirou watched Sora writing out the address he had made up two years ago, and it was a good job Sora had remembered it so clearly, because he had forgotten whether Nao's 'aunt' lived at 10 Eastvue Road or 110 Eastvue Road.

"Okay, Sora. I'll buy some stamps tomorrow and I'll send it right out."

"Thanks, Bro..." Sora smiled a little as Shinichirou pulled up at the orphanage. Sora picked the letter up off the floor, thinking for a moment in blind panic that he had lost it. He looked at his sad, little, slightly crumpled envelope, gripping it hard as if his might be visible on the paper, and slowly handed it over to Shinichirou. It was the most contact he had with Nao, even if it was nothing. "Thanks for letting me stay the weekend, Bro... You promise you'll post the letter?"

"As soon as I get a stamp on it, Sora."

Sora smiled as he walked away from the car and back to the orphanage. It was the first time he had walked away from Shinichirou and smiled in over two years. He had a real shot at talking to Nao again. After all, Sora thought, Nao's aunt had probably just thrown away the letters he had sent when she didn't recognise the handwriting but when she saw that Bro had written the letters she would take it seriously and give it to Nao... because Nao couldn't really hate him... could he? Unless... Nao really had been receiving and throwing away all his letters for all those years... He wouldn't... He couldn't...

Shinichirou watched Sora disappear through the big grey door of the orphanage and leaned back in the seat of his car, and put his hand over his face. Ironically, it had been easier to deal with Sora when he had been numb with shock for the first couple of months after he was rescued from the lab. He picked up the blue envelope Sora had entrusted to him and looked at it a second, feeling its weight and wondering what the right thing to do was. Well, he was definitely not thinking of the _right_ thing to do... He knew that the right thing to do would be to tell Sora the truth, tell the police and have Nanami turned in for assisting in the rape, torture and murder of minors. He was actually trying to assess what was the most practical thing to do. He turned the envelope around and opened it. Inside he found two pieces of notebook paper, written in pencil in Sora's tiny, messy handwriting. He considered reading it right there, but figured he should at least wait until he was out of Sora's potential line of sight before he violated his privacy, or rather, risked getting caught.

Shinichirou pulled away and tried to decide where would be a suitable place to pull over and read this letter. He wanted to avoid bringing it inside the flat, figuring Nanami really didn't need to know about it. Shinichirou was contemplating the parking lot about three blocks from where he was when he received a call. According to his phone, it was from 'Nanami Mobile'.

"Hey, babe... What's up?"

"Hey, sweetie!" Nanami's cheerful voice rang out through the receiver and he felt much better inside. "I was just in the supermarket and wondered what you'd like for dinner?"

"I chose last night's dinner, it's your turn, Nanami... Though I would like to make a request for dessert..."

"Oh, okay... what?"

"Whipped cream."

"To go on what?"

"You'll see..."

"Shinichirou!" Nanami whispered a nervous and slightly embarrassed squeal down the phone.

"Heh, listen, I can't really talk, I'm still driving. I'll see you at home, Nanami..."

"Okay, bye! I love you!"

"Love you too..." Shinichirou smiled and put Sora's little letter to the back of his mind. He drove home with his mind focused on things other than the meaningless whimpers of a ten-year-old and left the letter on the passenger's seat, not that it would have received any more attention if he had just done as Sora asked.


	3. Chapter 3 The Night of Chapter 2

**Chapter 3 – The Ideal Insomnia**

Sora was lying awake, staring at his bedroom ceiling. There were still 24 tiles and the lamp was still a little off-centre, but the window frame was now missing 9 flakes of paint. He sat up but didn't dare turn the light on for fear that the matron would see it and he'd get in trouble. He gingerly stepped towards the window, quickly changing his footing every time he encountered something on the floor. He opened his curtains, lifted the window up and sat on the windowsill, appreciating the cool night air.

Sora looked back into the room. Everything was slightly more silvery and indiscernible in the moonlight. He didn't like this room. It wasn't the blue walls, those had been the same in his last room. It wasn't the bed, that was also the same. It wasn't the wobbly desk, he rarely used it. It wasn't the wood flooring, there was less chance of carpet burn. It wasn't anything that was in the room that was the problem.

Sora sighed. He remembered moving into this room. Rather, he remembered returning from the hospital and finding all his stuff transplanted to this room. He cried when the matron told him that his old room had been needed for the Fujisaki twins who had arrived while he was in hospital. He wanted his old room, his room at the end of the top corridor, as far away from the matron as possible, the room with the starry curtains, the room with the red and blue beanbag chairs… but above all the room where Nao could be found dozing in the bottom bunk, ready to be woken by Sora throwing Toshizo on his chest and shaking his shoulders. Nao would always have a playful swipe at him or occasionally he would manage to pull Sora down into his bunk and wrestle with him as quietly as possible. They would knock it off when they heard the matron banging through the floor with her broom for them to stop and get ready for breakfast, damnit!

That was how he met Nao. Sora was too little to remember the first time he had seen Sunao Fujimori, but other people telling him what happened had become enough of a memory.

Sora looked out over the garden, trying to think about where Nao was and what he was doing and thinking. He was trying to imagine Nao running through his aunt's garden, running away from an older cousin spraying him and a younger cousin with an abnormally long hose. He tried to see Nao grinning, bouncing with his newfound surrogate siblings on a huge trampoline or playing a video game or puzzling over some homework from a pricey school. He hoped Nao was living the wonderful middle-class existence they had both mocked for being shallow, but secretly yearned for. But Sora just couldn't imagine Nao doing any of that stuff. He couldn't imagine anything after the lab. He couldn't imagine anything after seeing Nao's eyes as he was pulled away from him. Sora had seen himself running away to freedom, and he had seen the utter terror and betrayal streaming out of Nao's eyes.

Not many kids knew what it was like to never know your parents, not many kids knew what it was like to be tortured by a group of scientists for reasons he would never understand, and not many kids knew what it felt like to see yourself shrinking in the eyes of the person you love the most, as you helplessly betray them, leaving them behind to face what death wouldn't envy. Sora sincerely hoped he was the only one.


	4. Chapter 4 Three Years Before The Escape

**Chapter 4 – Silver Lining**

During a particularly cloudy morning in July, dawn came with a sickly greyish silver flavour. The birds in the garden began to screech when they saw the clouds, as if their presence offended them. The flowers were less discerning, and bobbed their faces towards the light, hoping vaguely for a little rain.

Sora awoke as the sun rose behind its marbled veil. It wasn't because he was a natural early riser. Definitely not. It was because the curtains were all but useless. They were supposed to be navy with white stars, only they were so old he could see through the stars and the room was bathed in a baby blue haze. Sora glanced at the clock on the wall: 7 o'clock precisely. He groaned. It was far too early for him.

Sora tried for over half an hour to return to sleep, rolling over so he was face down in his pillow, pulling the covers over his head, putting Toshizo over his eyes, wriggling to the other end of the bed to see if it would be any different. All attempts were futile. After everything he tried he was more awake than ever. He groaned again and decided to get up. Sora kicked off the covers and turned so that he could stand on the top rung of the bunk bed's ladder. He pushed and pulled at his sheets and pillows, transforming the bed from a needlessly warm, stuffy nest to an ironing board, ready for the matron to inspect.

Sora then climbed down the ladder slowly. The hard wooden rungs hurt his feet, but it was better to have a dull ache on every step rather than the cutting pain experienced if he moved too quickly. When he reached the bottom rung, he felt something much softer under his foot, though he only felt it for a few seconds as his step was shortly followed by a shrill shriek, causing Sora to fall off the ladder in surprise.

Sora hit the floor with a scattered thud, though it sounded more like a car being crushed to him. Luckily his backside hit the carpet first, taking most of the impact off his head. Sora was about to cry, partly from the pain, but mostly from shock, when he heard that someone else had beaten him to it. He sat up, rubbing his head, and found who was responsible for all of this. It was a little… girl? Boy? Yes, he had to be a boy… There was no way the matron would have allowed a girl to sleep in his room. The boy had pink hair, which he was rubbing with one hand, using the other to attempt to muffle his cries. He seemed to be the same age as Sora. He was sitting huddled in his duvet again the wall in the bottom bunk, tears streaming down his face.

"Who are you?" Sora scowled, this was not a good start to the day by any means. "Why are you crying?"

"I- I'm Sunao Fujimori… You- You stepped on my hair…" Sunao retreated further into the wall as he spoke.

Sora stood up, still angry. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I… I just slept here for tonight… 'cause I… I… lost… my mummy and daddy…" Sunao started to cry a little more and buried his face in his duvet, either remembering his recent loss or embarrassed that he was blubbering in front of a stranger.

Sora was a little dazed, both from his fall and from such a blunt statement. Most kids in the orphanage did not readily admit that they had lost their parents, not only because it was usually painful, but also because it was either redundant (why would they be here if they had parents?) or untrue (the rest had never had parents).

"Oh… I see…" Sora bit his lip.

Sunao remained facedown in his duvet, shuddering a little when he needed to take a gulp of air. Sora slowly got on to the bottom bunk and sat next to Sunao, back against the wall. He put a hand on Sunao's shoulder, hoping it might comfort him a little. Sunao didn't seem to have noticed.

"I'm Sora Hashiba."

Sunao nodded into his duvet. "'Kay…"

"You must have come in pretty late last night. I didn't hear you at all."

Sunao nodded again, only he brought his sticky, red, puffy face up into the air this time. "After midnight."

"How come?"

Sunao's eyes seemed to wobble, it was his tears shaking before his eyes overflowed again. "Last night, I was washing my face, getting ready for bed, when I heard the front door open with a loud clanging noise. Then I heard shouting, lots of shouting. I went outside the bathroom to see why. I looked through the white wooden railing bits that come between the floor and the stairs to downstairs… The barista? I think that's the name… You know what I mean?"

"I think you mean 'banister'."

"Oh, yeah, that's it. Well, I looked down and saw three men… three big men, wearing black clothes and masks. One had a gun, like the police do on TV. But he wasn't a policeman. None of them were. I saw my mummy and daddy, kneeling on the ground, hands behind their heads. I don't know why, but they looked scared, so I was scared. I saw the men carrying away our TV. The one with the gun took Daddy's watch and wallet and Mummy's necklace and purse. Another one came in. He shouted at them, he wanted to know where our expensive stuff was. We didn't really have much else, so he the one with the gun got mad. He shouted at them to tell him where the jewellery or silverware or video player or stereo was. Mummy said there was a radio in the kitchen, but that was all. The one with the gun got even madder and then there was a loud noise and Mummy fell down on her face and was bleeding… lots. Then there was another loud bang and Daddy fell down too, and he was bleeding too.

"I got really scared and I couldn't move. Then the one with the gun started to come up the stairs, so I ran into the bathroom, locked the door and opened the window. There's this little kinda ledge thing under the window, and I always get told to never ever climb on it, but I thought that it would be more dangerous to stay inside. I shuffled along the ledge, then climbed on the roof, because I didn't want to jump all the way down, because Mummy says that if I fall down that far I'll break my neck. I heard one of the men yelling that there was a kid in the house. I got really scared then. Then I heard them all banging on the bathroom door, yelling for me. They said, "We're gonna"-… Um… I'm not allowed to use the word…"

Sora rubbed Sunao's shoulder a little. "Don't worry, I can imagine what they were saying."

Sunao nodded, took a deep breath and continued. "While they were trying to break down the door, I moved along to the big bedroom, which is where Mummy and Daddy sleep. I opened the window and went in to get the phone. There's one beside Mummy's side of the bed. I pressed the button that said 'Police' and a lady picked up. She asked what was my emergency. I told her about the men and my mummy and daddy and she said she was sending a police car and ambulance. She said to stay on the phone, so she knew I was okay. She sounded nice, so I did. Then I heard the men break the bathroom door, so I took the phone under the bed and told the lady to please not talk, because I didn't want them to hear me.

"The men must have known I was somewhere inside, because they kept tearing up my house, looking for me, and expensive things. They came into the big bedroom and started searching through the wardrobe and stuff. I tried to not breathe too much."

"Wow… that sounds scary." Sora couldn't really find any words that would be more helpful, though he wished otherwise.

"Yeah… But I was really, really quiet and still, so they didn't hear me. But then another one came into the room and started feeling under the bed. I tried making myself really small, so he wouldn't get me. But I didn't do it right, and he grabbed my arm. He started pulling at me but I pulled at him, and I kicked him and I screamed. I could hear that the lady on the phone was getting worried and the man was yelling, but I just kept going. It felt like a really, really long time, but I don't think it was. But then four policemen grabbed him and his friend and wrestled with them and got them in handcuffs and pushed them against the wall and it was so cool. I came out and an ambulance man tried to take me downstairs, but I asked if I could get Nezumi first." Nao produced a small, fuzzy grey stuffed mouse from under his duvet. It was slightly too big to fit in one hand completely, but holding it with two seemed unnecessary.

"After that, I went to the hospital in the ambulance, which even turned its sirens and lights on. I figured my mummy and daddy would be there, but I didn't see them. I asked where they were and a nurse told me they were downstairs, and she said I should get some rest. I didn't want to rest, but it was so late that I fell asleep. I woke up later and I was in a car, and the lady told me I was coming here. Miss Lucy brought me up here and I fell asleep again."

Sora didn't know what he really wanted to say, so he settled for his first thought. "So, I guess you live here now?"

Sunao looked at him, confused and upset. "No. I'm going to see my mummy and daddy and they'll take me home and we'll get a new TV."

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think that's going to happen… I think your mummy and daddy are dead."

"D…dead? What's 'dead'?"

Sora took a deep breath. "Have you seen _The Lion King_?"

"Yes…"

"Well, you know when Simba's dad falls off the cliff and didn't wake up afterwards?"

"Yes…"

"That's what your mummy and daddy are like now."

Sunao shuddered, turned a worrying shade of grey and shook his head. Sora offered nothing to support Sunao's denial, and instead just let him cry on his chest.

Sora sat there with Sunao for hours. He watched the clock tick and saw the sunlight break through the clouds. Sora was strangely comfortable with Sunao drenching his favourite pyjamas. He felt even a little happy to let Sunao wriggle into his lap and hold him there. Sunao clutched onto Sora and wailed, intensity varying from violent convulsions to timid whimpering

Sora had never felt so needed before. He stroked Sunao's moist hair and rubbed his cold yet sweaty back, thinking about how defenceless this little kid was now. Sora figured he was nothing compared to a mummy or daddy, but he decided he would do whatever he could for Sunao.

"Hey, Nao…"

"Su- Su… Su-"

"Nao… you want to be my best friend?"

"Bes- bes- bes…"

"Best friend… I think you really need one right now… right?"

"But… but…"

"But what?"

"I have a best friend… Mat- Mat- Matsuri Honjou…"

"Oh…" Sora felt a little deflated. "Well, how about your best friend here? At this orphanage?"

"U- Umm… Okay… I guess Matsuri wouldn't mind…"

Sora smiled and let Nao rest against him for a while as he explained some rules of the orphanage and some ways to get around them. Nao told him about Nezumi and Matsuri. They stayed there longer still, only moving when the Matron rapped loudly on the door for them to get a move on, lest they miss breakfast.

{Author's note: I tried to make this chapter a little less depressing... didn't quite work, but it's getting there!}


	5. Chapter 5 The Day after Chapter 3

((Author's note: Sorry this took so long! I've been swamped. I fully intend to continue this, just might take a while, I'm still swamped, I just didn't want to pack. The next chapter will be longer, I swear!))

**Chapter 5 – Shinichirou's Mistake**

"Shinchiro! I'm going out!" Nanami called from the hallway, trying to decide which jacket to take – the green one or the brown one… was it too warm for the fur-lined blue one though?

"Oh, where are you going?" Shinichirou got up from reading his paper and leant against the wall next to Nanami.

"The post office. The tax disc on the car is going to run out next month, so I'm going to get it renewed, plus your mother's birthday is next week, so I'm going to look around for something she might like."

Shinichirou sighed. "Forgot about that…"

"Yes, and I invited her over for dinner on Friday." Nanami finally settled on the green jacket, for no reason he could explain. "Oh, and I called the cable company and upgraded the plan, like you wanted, so now we get all the movie channels.

Shinichirou walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Nanami and kissed his cheek. "What would I do without you?"

"You would have starved to death long ago."

"I wish I knew how to contradict you."

"Very funny. Now, c'mon, I want to get to the post office before a lines builds up."

"Okay." Shinichirou kissed Nanami one more time before he let him go, then went to the kitchen to get a beer. Sure, it wasn't even 9am yet, but all he could think about was Sora's letter… which (it then occurred to him) he had left in the car… on the front seat… where Nanami would see it… Shinichirou slammed the fridge shut and hurtled out the door and down the stairs, praying he could grab the letter before Nanami saw it. Nanami thought Shinichirou had told Sora the truth. Nanami thought Shinichirou _had_ called the police and had Aizawa arrested. Nanami thought all that because that is what Shinichirou had told him. Shinichirou always believed that Nanami was something of a fool, for a couple of reasons. The first being that Nanami had ever agreed to go out with him, the second that he had ever believed a word that came out of Shinichirou's mouth.

"_It's not too late to fix it."_

"_We _can_ do it, we _can_ save them."_

"_Don't worry, the police are coming."_

"_Nao is fine."_

"_I love you."_

Okay, not every word had been a lie, but Shinichirou had created such a web of deceit that he didn't think even he could lie enough to get himself out of it.

Shinichirou burst out of the building and looked around frantically. The car was gone. Shit.


	6. Chapter 6 Alongside Chapter 5

**Chapter 6 – Nanami's Drive**

Nanami shut the front door and sighed a little. He felt nothing. He shoved his hands into his pockets. He hadn't felt anything for a while now. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself. He hadn't felt anything since he left the lab.

_God, that sounds nice, doesn't it? I haven't been happy or sad or angry or even slightly annoyed since I stopped torturing small boys. Wow, well done, Dad. You really raised a winner here. _Nanami thought about sighing again as he watched the lighted numbers fall in the lift as he descended from the top floor. He tried to get something else into his mind. The only thing that came to it, unfortunately, was Shinichirou.

_Great._

Nanami had never really liked Shinichirou all that much. He found his company agreeable and didn't mind sleeping with him. Though, that wasn't really fair. When Nanami first met Shinichirou, he _had_ liked him. They had fun together. Nanami had liked riding on the back of his motorcycle and drinking beer through the night and day to avoid the hangover. However, once he had been on the motorcycle a few times and drunk 'til he puked three times in one evening (and Shinichirou still had no problem making out with him that evening. _Let it never be said he ever made me feel unwanted…_), Nanami had gotten, well, bored. He wanted to get away, but through all the time Nanami had known Shinichirou, it had been easier to keep him around than to shake him. Mostly because he (_technically_) did owe Shinichirou for… saving (_is that the right word?_) him from Aizawa's experiments (_no, not experiments, madness. He was crazy._) He still acted like he had feelings for Shinichirou though, just like back when they started out. He had genuinely been happy to have him around, so he acted all cute and lovey-dovey now. It was the natural progression of emotions. Why mess with it? Nanami shrugged to himself, as if he had actually expected himself to answer.

He was grateful for the lack of thoughts he had from the front door to the car, but his conscious was forced upon him again just after put on his seatbelt. He noticed a couple of pages of graphite-smudged paper on the passenger's seat. He saw they came from an opened blue envelope. He assumed Shinichirou had just opened a letter and left it there. He paid it no mind and drove off.

Nanami watched the road and signs and traffic go by. He was concentrating on his perfectly methodical driving, which he liked. Anything that occupied his mind, he liked. However, he was unlucky that morning. He got stuck behind a broken down Jeep on a one-way street, just a block from the post office. No way around it. He would have to wait the average of 37 minutes it would take the breakdown service to arrive, and then the extra time it would take to fix the damn car.

Nanami looked for something to entertain himself, and his eyes fell immediately to the letter. He knew he shouldn't read Shinichirou's letters… but then again… how private could it be? If it was something he didn't want Nanami to read, he wouldn't have left it lying around the car, which they shared, would he? Then again, it hadn't been delivered to their house, so maybe it was something Shinichirou didn't want Nanami to see…

Nanami decided just to look at the signature, just to see who had sent the letter. That was harmless, right?

'_Please reply. I love you,_

_Kuu-chan and Yoru xxxx'_

Nanami was puzzled. Why would Sora be writing to Shinichirou? He could call him at any time, Sora knew that. Moreover, why would he sign himself as Kuu-chan? That was Nao's nickname for Sora. Nanami had never really known why, but he has accepted it without issue. And then again, who on Earth was Yoru?

Nanami looked at the front page of the letter, just to read the first bit or so. He had no real intention of violating the confidentiality of the letter, but he knew it wouldn't work out that way.

_Dear Nao, or Ran, whoever you are now…_

Nanami was perplexed. Why was a letter from Sora to Nao here? Why was it open? Who was Ran? Why would Nao not be Nao anymore?

Nanami decided to forget about privacy and settled in for an interesting read. While his eyes scrolled from word to word, Nanami didn't know it, but he was glad he read it. He finally felt something again. Well, two things to be more accurate: anger and fear.

Nanami made a reckless and furious U-turn and didn't let the accelerator up until he swerved into their assigned parking bay back home.


End file.
